Philo Amarus's Arc

Chapter 3 of 9

The walk to his father's palace felt longer than it should have. Eris kept pace beside him, their hands still linked, and Philo found himself watching the grand columns rise against the darkening sky. The building looked like it was waiting for them, all stone carvings and imposing height, the kind of place where words mattered more than anywhere else. He'd imagined this conversation a dozen times, but never with Eris beside him, never with his father already knowing. That changed everything. Inside, Ares stood by the fountain in the center of the main hall, not moving, just watching the water cascade over the bronze tiers. He didn't turn when they entered, and Philo felt Eris's grip tighten slightly. His father's silence had always meant more than other people's speeches, and right now it felt like a test Philo hadn't studied for. "You held her hand in front of your mother," Ares said finally, still facing the fountain. "Now you're here. That means you're serious." It wasn't a question. Philo opened his mouth to explain, to justify, to make it sound reasonable, but Eris spoke first. "He chose me," she said, simple and direct. "Twice now. Once when I broke the vase, once when you walked in." Ares turned then, and his expression was unreadable. "Good," he said. "Because this isn't the kind of thing you walk away from halfway through." He looked directly at Philo. "You understand that?" Philo met his father's eyes and nodded. "I'm not walking away," he said, and heard the finality in his own voice. Ares studied him for another long moment, then stepped away from the fountain and clapped him once on the shoulder — hard enough to sting, light enough to mean approval. "Then we'll make it official," his father said. "Tomorrow. Your mother will want to be there, even if she pretends she doesn't." He looked at Eris. "You break anything else in my house, make sure it's worth it." Eris grinned, sharp and genuine. "Always do," she said. Ares almost smiled, then walked past them toward the door, leaving them alone with the sound of falling water. Philo realized he was still holding Eris's hand, and that his father had just given them something he hadn't known he needed: permission to stop asking for it. The next step wasn't his father's to decide anymore. It was theirs.